Firsts and lasts

Last non-slimming club meal:

A ‘gourmet burger’ (assumed ironic title) at a well-known bargain pub chain. The meal included burger, bacon, cheese, onion rings and chips, along with a artery-clogging blue cheese sauce for good measure. It was pretty greasy and fairly awful.

First slimming-club meal:

A homemade, light, pasta dish with spaghetti, onion, fresh tomatoes, coriander, lemon, chilli and a sprinkle of cheese. It looked amazing, yet healthy. The perfect start, some might say. ‘Cept it tasted of nothing.

Hmm, lesson to be learned there, methinks.

Last time I was hungry:

This afternoon at work. No snacks prepared, or in stock, to munch on. Vending machine offered nothing I was willing to cheat with.

First time I regretted this regime:

Not yet. Sure it’ll come though. Perhaps at the 30th party I’m attending this weekend, or at least on the long train journey to London, where I’ll want crisps and sweets, but will have crispbread based snackettes and fruit based mouth-sized nibblets (grapes).

Last bit of exercise:

Last night at circuits. First time back for the New Year. It was hard but rewarding. Amazed how quick the fitness abandoned me, but reassured by the end as I got a bit more into my stride.

First kiss:

Nar, don’t think we’ll go there!

The only man in the room.

Goals

So if I am going to stick to this, and stick to writing this blog, then I should have some goals.

I won’t bore you with lots of OTT nonsense. But I will say that:

1) I want this blog to encourage me (or shame me) into making sure I stick to the weight loss.

2) Therefore I need to make sure I keep blogging regularly – my current thinking is two or three times enough is probably the right balance between boring you and it being to sparse for anyone to care to look.

3) I want to lose weight – my first goal is to get back down to 15 stone 8 – my lowest recent weight

4) I am toying with registering for the Edinburgh Half Marathon – that would be a major goal and likely a big focus for me.

I think that’s about enough, but is there anything else that I should have included?

The only man in the room

The start

Starting weight: 18 stone.

The only man in the room. It might sound profound, but really just sums the subject of this blog, which will be one man’s quest to lose weight at a slimming club.

I joined tonight. Not for the first time. I’ve been a member a couple of times. And in some ways that is part of my problem. When I first joined, I managed to lose over four stone. I’ve been a member since then as I’ve put a little weight back on, and have hovered around a loss of about three stone.

Well since then I’ve had a enjoyable, but unhealthy Christmas, and a 30th birthday. Now those are over, I’m back in the club, I’ve paid my subs and I’m raring to go.

Or something like that.

The problem with having lost a bit of weight at a slimming group is probably a psychological one – I know it works (I’ve lost up to 9lb in a week before), so at the back of my mind it’s there as an option, even if I am not doing it.

But tonight I went back. I listened to the talk and then I had the weigh in. And I’d put on more weight than I had realised.

I should have realised though. A lot of my clothes aren’t really fitting me at the moment, and I’m wearing the baggier of my options. Not a good luck.

So I do feel spurred on right now. This blog is part of it.

I have decided to chronicle my weight loss (I hope!) and my experiences in doing it.

And the name of the blog just referred to the fact that most of the other people there are women. Of the 60 odd people at ‘class’ tonight, three were men.

Anyway, that’s blog one, come back for more in the near future.

Ian. AKA The only man in the room.